Untold rapture for the Irish, who made it to the South Pole on January 8th. After crossing South Georgia Island last year, hard on the heels of Shackleton, the Beyond Endurance Expedition has this time successfully completed the Hercules/South Pole route.

Pat Falvey and his Irish companions have not had much luck this year and have been dogged by bad weather since the expedition first set out. Having said that, they continue to make progress, even though some of them are struggling...